JOHANNESBURG - Ratings agency Moody’s said on Thursday that it did not believe that South Africa’s decision in its 2019 budget to raise the expenditure ceiling by around R16 billion over three years would weaken fiscal policy credibility.

Moody’s, the last of the big three ratings agencies to rate South Africa in investment grade, is scheduled to review that rating next month.

It added in a note on the budget that South Africa’s contingent liability risks remained sizeable and that the country’s government debt burden was now expected to exceed 60% of gross domestic product by the fiscal year 2023.